With less than two weeks to go until Christmas, most of you finished all of your holiday shopping weeks ago. Unfortunately, not all of us are quite so diligent, which is why I’m still hunting for gifts days before I have to hop on a plane to go see my family. If you are anything like me, you need to know about Google’s incredibly useful new shopping features.
In a blog post on Thursday, Google’s Danielle Buckley highlighted three features that might just save your bacon if you still haven’t finished shopping for the holidays yet.
The first has to be my favorite: If you search for a gift on Google, you can now filter for products that will arrive by December 24. For example, if you search for “slippers,” you should see a new button above the search results that reads: Get it by Dec 24. Click that button, and Google will immediately filter out anything that won’t ship on time. Google will also show you how much on-time shipping will cost and if the item is in stock anywhere near you.
The second feature isn’t new, but it has been updated. Last November, Google brought package tracking to Gmail. As long as you turn the feature on, you’ll see delivery updates in your inbox list without even having to open the emails. This month, Google will improve the feature by bumping the email to the top of your inbox if the delivery date changes.
Finally, if the recipient of your gift is not satisfied, Google is making it easier to figure out return policies. After a package has arrived, Google is now including the link to that merchant’s return guidelines at the top of shopping-related emails in Gmail. Google also shows return policies on Search, so if you can’t find it in an email, try searching.
Google may never be able to cure my procrastination, but at least the company can help me make sure I get everyone’s presents before it’s too late.
